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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29539794">you make my heart shake, bend and break</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomade13/pseuds/nomade13'>nomade13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Wilds (TV 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/F, Kinda follows canon, Mystery, Soulmate Pain AU, Soulmates, leatin being girlfriends is all i want, there's some stuff i changed tho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:07:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,630</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29539794</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomade13/pseuds/nomade13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She scrambles to where Shelby landed. “Shit, I swear I didn’t mean to...” Toni falters when she notices a bloody wound on Shelby’s temple. </p><p>“Go ahead and go on back. I will too but you should get a head start. I’d really rather walk alone.” Shelby said pointedly. Her now cold eyes staring into Toni’s. </p><p>Meanwhile, Toni can’t take her eyes off Shelby’s wound. She turns and slowly walks away, her hand coming up to rub her own temple that was throbbing in pain. The pain was exactly in the same spot where Shelby got her wound.</p><p> <em>There’s no way…</em></p><p>____________________________________________________</p><p>(or the wilds but with soulmate au where you can feel each other's emotions. leatin are girlfriends. shoni is blossoming.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke, GoodFoe - Relationship, Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe, Shoni, leatin - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>224</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Trying Hard Not to Fall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi &lt;33 this is my first time ever writing fanfic. i just wanted to say that since im following some of the events that happened in the show, i followed the script so all rights goes to the show and my bestie, amazon prime. okay, now that im sure i wont get sued, </p><p>enjoy!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Oi Marty! Ready to go?” Toni calls out as she waits for the cashier to check out the snacks she bought.</p><p>She heard no response from said friend. <em>Where the hell is she? </em> She shoots an awkward smile towards the person behind the counter before paying and grabbing her bag of Takis and Gatorade bottle.</p><p>Toni walks down the aisles, her head turning left and right looking for her best friend when all of a sudden-</p><p> </p><p>“BOO!”</p><p> </p><p>Martha’s face appears right in front of Toni’s just as she peers around the corner of an aisle.</p><p>“What the fuck Martha?!” Toni exclaims. She lightly shoves Martha who just laughs whole-heartedly in response.</p><p>Catching her breath, Martha asks, “Sorry Toni. Got what you need?”. A small smug grin still on her face.</p><p>“Yups. Takis and Gatorade, baby!” Toni replies throwing her arms up in the air while shaking her hips. Martha smiles. Seeing her bestfriend happy makes her happy.</p><p>“Seems like someone’s excited for the trip.”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Pfttt, no. I’m only going cause you’re going.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, come on. Don’t lie, Toni! I can see <em>right</em> through you. It’s your first time on a plane!! I won’t blame you for being excited.” Martha nudges an elbow into Toni.</p><p>Okay, to be honest, Toni’s feeling <em>pretty</em> hyped to be going outside of the country for the first time ever (not that she’d admit it). All her life she’s been moving from foster home to foster home, never really settling down for too long. It also basically means that she’s never had the luxury of spending family vacation time in another country.</p><p>“Whatever, let’s get the hell out of here. We need to head to Fargo.”</p><p>And with that, the two bestfriends left the store and went inside the car where Martha’s mother is waiting for them.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Boarding the plane, Leah walks down the aisle to her assigned seat at the very back with her book in hand. She passes by her soulmate and makes eye contact, a grin on her face. Smirking, Fatin throws her a wink before focusing back to re-applying her lip gloss.</p><p>Heaving a sigh, Leah plops down on her seat feeling slightly dejected that she’s sitting far away from her girlfriend. She opens her book, <em>Kafka on the Shore</em> and starts reading from where she left off.</p><p>A few seats ahead, Fatin picks up on her down mood and tries to send some of her excitement through their bond. She turns around in her seat to throw a comforting smile towards her soulmate who reciprocates the smile back. And soon enough, the plane starts to take off.</p><p>After the plane takes off and the seatbelt sign disappears, Toni hurriedly unbuckled herself before peering at the window next to her seat. <em>Wow. This is kinda cool. There’s just clouds everywhere. </em>She zones out, staring at the clouds for a while that she doesn’t notice the two people talking at the front of the plane.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Guess we’ll have to play matchmaker then</em>,” A thick southern accent pulls her away from her thoughts. “<em>You, can come with me.”</em></p><p> </p><p>Toni manages to get a glimpse of blonde hair and green eyes before she is being hauled up from her seat and shoved into a seat at the very front next to a girl in athletic wear. Her irritation quickly dissipates when the flight attendant offers her a plate of delicious looking chocolate fudge cake.</p><p>She takes a huge bite. <em>Airplane food isn’t that bad. Or maybe I’m just hungry.</em></p><p>The plane fills with soft chatter as the girls get acquainted with one another. Toni and Rachel have a small talk about sports. Both of them just not understanding each other’s ways. Meanwhile, Fatin hits it off with Dot. Complete opposites but they just <em>click. </em>Shelby turning Martha into a blushing mess. Jeanette talking Nora’s ear off and Nora just side eye-ing her.</p><p>Meanwhile, Leah is minding her own business. She prefers to be alone just reading her book. She felt content that way. And reading her book, it was like the calm before the storm. <em>And man, was it a huge fucking storm.</em></p><hr/><p> </p><p>“<em>HELLO? ANYBODY?!!”</em></p><p> </p><p>“<em>MARTHA!! MARTY!”</em></p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <strong>DAY 1</strong>
</p><p>Leah looks around her. All she sees is blue. Everywhere. And wreckage from the plane floating around.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What the fuck.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Where am I.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What the hell just happened?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>A groan pulls her back to reality. She whips around and sees a girl floating on a piece of the plane wreckage. Leah quickly swims over.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey! Are you alright? Hey, stay with me.”</p><p> </p><p>The girl lets out a whimper of pain, her hand flying to her stomach. Leah swims closer to check her stomach. Gently removing the girl’s hand away, she notices the name <em>Alex </em>etched across her wrist in black ink. <em>Nice, she’s already met her soulmate.</em></p><p>She then remembers that the girl is in pain which means her soulmate will feel it too. <em> Shit, her soulmate must be worried sick.</em></p><p>Then it feels as if a bucket of ice was poured over her as Leah remembers her own soulmate. Her heart drops to her stomach. <em>Fuck, Fatin. </em>Shakily, she brings her right hand up to her face. She can feel her heart pounding out of her chest. <em>Please be okay. </em>Leah turns to the inside of her wrist.</p><p>Relief floods into her when sees her soulmate’s name there still etched into her skin-- in black.<em> She’s still alive. Thank god.</em> Leah tries to feel for her soulmate through their bond but all she feels is numbness. <em>Please be okay. Please be okay. </em>She sends some reassurance through the bond to tell Fatin, wherever she is, that she’s fine.</p><p> </p><p>“Arghh,” the girl lets out another pained groan.</p><p> </p><p>Leah suddenly remembers she has an injured person infront of her. “Oh shit, right, let me take a look.”</p><p>Pushing the girl’s shirt aside, Leah can see a huge bruise forming in her pelvic area. “If you were bleeding internally, your heart rate would be like, shot. I think you’re just a little roughed up.” she says comfortingly.</p><p>Then the girl weakly raised her arm and pointed into the distance. Leah’s eyes followed to where she was pointing before they focus on an island not far from where they were floating.</p><p>Leah lets out a relieved laugh, “Hey, look! We’re gonna be okay.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>“HEY! HELP!” Leah shouts with her whole chest. She was exhausted. She could barely feel her legs anymore. Her body is aching all over.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“I SEE YOU!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“WE SEE YOU!”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Two girls come to her aid and they pulled Jeanette <em>(is the name of the girl, she later learned)</em> out of her arms, carrying her to shore. Leah lags behind, trying to catch her breath.</p><p>Upon stepping a foot onto the sand, Leah flops down on her back and closes her eyes, taking a moment to collect herself. She tries reaching out for Fatin again.</p><p>And that’s when she can feel her soulmate.</p><p>She opens her eyes and sees a face looming over her. Fatin’s face to be exact. Her eyebrows are scrunched up in worry and she has a little frown on her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>Leah sits up and exclaims, “Fatin!”</p><p> </p><p>“Leah, ohmygod,” Fatin brings her soulmate into a tight hug. She hides her face in Leah’s neck as she lets a few tears run down her face.</p><p>“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Leah whispers into her hair. Her arms around Fatin wraps tighter, trying to bring her impossibly closer.</p><p>Fatin doesn’t respond. She doesn’t need to. Leah can feel her through the bond.</p><p> </p><p> <em>I’m okay.</em></p><p> </p><hr/><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>(An hour or so later)</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“I bet we’ll get rich once they find us. Suing for damages or whatever.” Toni says. “Not that your ass needs the money” she mutters.</p><p>“Shhh. Keep listenin’ for water,” Shelby replies, ignoring Toni’s last statement.</p><p>“I’m so sick of looking at your fucking ponytail. I feel like it thinks it’s better than me.” Toni jabs.</p><p>Shelby sighs. <em>This girl just doesn’t know when to shut her pretty little mouth does she? </em>“Then how about you go in front?”</p><p>“Fine.” Toni picks up her pace to walk ahead.</p><p> </p><p>“Lord, in Your mercy,” Shelby starts.</p><p> </p><p><em>Oh dear god is she seriously doing this? After telling me to shut up? </em>Toni thinks.</p><p> </p><p>“grant us water so that we may drink. Lord, in Your mercy- “</p><p> </p><p>Toni cuts her off, her voice raising slightly in anger, “Weren’t you just telling me to shut up and listen?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s different, when you pray, God opens your senses--“</p><p> </p><p>“God’s such a joke.” Toni retaliates. “Don’t you know he’s just a brainwashing tool designed to enslave the masses?”</p><p> </p><p>“Even if he were just a <em>brainwashing tool, </em>don’t you think that maybe your brain could use a good… <em>scrub?” </em>Shelby smirks.</p><p> </p><p>The smirk throws Toni off. All of a sudden, her brain short-circuits and she can’t think of a comeback. Instead, she replies, “Fuck off.” And speed walks ahead, her heart racing.</p><p> </p><p>“Lord, in Your mercy, grant us water so that we may drink,” Shelby continues praying.</p><p> </p><p>Toni, her anger level steadily rising up, pulls back the branches blocking her path and lets it go with more force than she intended. The branches swings back and hits Shelby right in the face which leads her to slipping and rolling a few metres down.</p><p> </p><p><em>Fuck! Shit. </em>Toni scolds herself in her head. <em>Way to go, Toni.</em></p><p> </p><p>She scrambles to where Shelby landed. “Shit, I swear I didn’t mean to...” Toni falters when she notices a bloody wound on Shelby’s temple.</p><p> </p><p>“Go ahead and go on back. I will too but you should get a head start. I’d really rather walk alone.” Shelby said pointedly. Her now cold eyes staring into Toni’s.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile, Toni can’t take her eyes off Shelby’s wound. She turns and slowly walks away, her hand coming up to rub her own temple that was throbbing in pain. The pain was exactly in the same spot where Shelby got her wound.</p><p> </p><p> <em>There’s no way…</em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was starting to get dark. The girls were now gathered around a campfire. Dot has managed to get a fire going with the help of Nora.</p><p>The mood was pretty solemn. It hasn’t even been 24 hours on this island and they’ve already lost someone.</p><p> </p><p>Jeanette. <em>Sweet little annoyingly positive Jeanette</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Leah can’t stop thinking about her. She can’t help but feel like she was responsible.</p><p> </p><p> <em>I should’ve checked up on her more</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Fatin turns her head to look at Leah. She can feel her soulmate’s guilt. It’s weighing heavy on her conscience. Reaching over, she runs a hand down Leah’s back soothingly who unconsciously leans into the touch. She moves her gaze from the campfire to Fatin’s awaiting eyes.</p><p> </p><p><em>It’s not your fault. </em>Is what Leah can read from her soulmate’s eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m gonna swim out to the plane tomorrow. See if I can find anything.” Rachel breaks the silence. “Might be a radio or a callbox or something.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll come with you.” Says Leah, her eyes darting away from Fatin’s.</p><p> </p><p>After noticing Martha’s shivers (a little too lately), Fatin rummages through her luggage before throwing some sweaters to Martha and Dot.</p><p>Meanwhile, Toni is stealing glances at a particular blonde.</p><p> </p><p>She darts her eyes away. <em>There’s no way she can be my soulmate.</em></p><p> </p><p>Glance. <em>What is she so pretty for though.</em></p><p> </p><p>Dart. <em>Whatever. She probably has a boyfriend back home waiting for her.</em></p><p> </p><p>Glance. <em>Wow, but the way the campfire light hits her. She doesn’t look so annoying now.</em></p><p> </p><p>“So… would it be a little crazy if I suggested a little… icebreaker?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Nevermind.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Never Have I Ever,” Shelby continues. “Feels… right.”</p><p> </p><p>“All right. Only if you go first.” Toni butts in. Her eyes showing a bit of challenge.</p><p> </p><p>“Fine. Never have I ever had vaginal penetrative intercourse.” Shelby says with a small shrug.</p><p> </p><p>Leah and Fatin eyes each other. Fatin wiggles her eyebrows playfully and Leah rolls her eyes, fighting the tiny grin that’s trying to form on her face. Then, they simultaneously take a swig of their drinks.</p><p>Unfortunately for them, their little interaction didn’t go unnoticed by a certain Dorothy Campbell. She can easily see the tiny grins sporting their faces as they drink. She lets out a chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“I saw that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Saw what?” Nora questions.</p><p>“Those two.” Dot says nodding her in the direction of Leah and Fatin. “You guys are soulmates, right?”</p><p>“Wait, you guys are soulmates?” Martha interrupts. Her eyes holding a bright innocent glint as she looks at the two.</p><p>The couple shares a look. Fatin nods while Leah lets out a soft “Yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>“How’d you know, Dorothy?” Fatin asks.</p><p> </p><p>“I <em>kind</em> of accidentally saw your wrist when I was trying to help you earlier. When you were, ya know, in shock.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Oh, right. </em>Fatin thinks. <em>That.</em></p><p> </p><p>“You were in shock?” Leah turns to her soulmate. <em>That explains why I couldn’t feel anything from her earlier.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Yea, I guess.” Fatin pauses. Her mind going back to when the plane was crashing and the following moments later when she woke up alone on the island. “It’s like... my whole life just <em>flashed</em> before my eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>Leah gives her a sympathy smile before pulling her into a side hug.</p><p> </p><p>“What about you guys? Have any of you met your soulmate yet?” Leah asks, her eyes glancing around the girls. Her arm still wrapped around her soulmate’s waist.</p><p>Martha sighs dramatically then flops on her back, “Nope. My soulmate has yet to waltz into this wonderful life of mine.” Then she sits back up, “Actually, I’m not even sure I have one. I’ve never felt anything from them.”</p><p>Dot shakes her head in disagreement. “Nahh. He, or she, is probably just a cautious person. My mom was super cautious growing up. My dad thought he didn’t have a soulmate. That is, until they met in senior year when my dad accidentally threw a football on her head.”</p><p>Some of the girls let out low chuckles at that last statement.</p><p> </p><p>“My soulmate is dead.”</p><p> </p><p>They all snapped their heads towards Nora who was looking at the campfire. Her eyes were glazed over as if she was deep in thought. Then, she looked up at all the bewildered eyes staring back at her before holding her right arm out in front of her. “Or, dying.”</p><p>Tugging the long sleeve back, she revealed the mark across her wrist. <em>Quinn. </em>Etched in grey ink.  “We met during the summer, at a university. Apparently, he was involved in a frat hazing ritual and then he disappeared. That was the last time I’ve heard of him.”</p><p>Shelby gives her a sad smile. “I’m so sorry that’s happened. But on the bright side, the ink is grey, Nora. Not white. Which means he’s still out there somewhere.”</p><p>Nora nods her head, looking back at the campfire. Rachel pats her back comfortingly before turning to the others, “Aight. It’s getting too heavy here. Can we just continue with the game?”</p><p>And with that, they returned to the game. The night progressing on with more light-heartedness in the air.</p><p> </p><p>(And also with more stolen glances from Toni.)</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. On the Way Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>just gonna give u guys the basics of how the soulmate thing works: so ever since your birth, you can already feel your soulmate's pain and emotions. when you finally meet them, their name will appear on your wrist but only once the both of you accept each other.</p><p>the name will be in black if your soulmate is alive and in white, if theyre not alive. </p><p>okayy enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>DAY 2</strong>
</p><p>“Rise and shine. We’re in hell.”</p><p>
  <em>Ugh.</em>
</p><p>“Fatin.” Dot says, trying to shake the stiff body awake. Her heartrate starts to increase. <em>Shit, is she dead?</em></p><p>“What the fuck?” <em>Okay, not dead.</em></p><p>Fatin sits up slightly. Leaning on one elbow, she shoots a glare at Dot. “I was sleeping.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, I thought you were dead, dick.”</p><p><em>It’s way too early for this.</em> Fatin thinks. Head still heavy with sleepiness, she flops back on the hard ground trying to fall back to sleep.</p><p>“People, we’re missing a person.” She overhears.</p><p>“Leah.”</p><p>Hearing her soulmate’s name, Fatin shoots up. Her mind now awake and immediately flooding with fear, worry and worst case scenarios.</p><p>But the it went away as fast as it came when she felt Leah sending her calm reassurance through the bond. With a relieved sigh, she lies back down. Staring at the wide blue sky above her. The reality of being stranded on a remote island hitting her like a truck.</p><p>“Leah is fine, guys. I don’t know where she is but she’s fine.” She informs the others.</p><p>Right after she says that, Leah appears behind the group. “I’m right here, and I’m fine. Just went to go pee somewhere.”</p><p>Leah joins the group and sits next to Fatin before gently lifting up her soulmate’s head and sliding under it so that now, Fatin was laying comfortably on her lap. Running a hand through Fatin’s hair, she untangles the knots while looking at the other girls.</p><p>Nora was sitting up with her arms around her knees, staring out into the sea. Rachel was still in the process of waking up. Shelby was checking over Martha’s sprained ankle while Toni was glaring heatedly at the blonde.</p><p>“I got this, okay, just go.” Toni fires. “She doesn’t need a ton of people crowding her.”</p><p>“Come on now Toni, I can help. I’ve dealt with these kinds of things before.” Shelby says seemingly unaffected by all the glares thrown at her from Toni.</p><p>Toni opens her mouth to retaliate but Martha cuts her off. “Stop, Toni. Just let her help me out. I just wanna get better and walk again. Asap.”</p><p>“Fine, whatever.” Toni says before walking away from the duo with an angry huff.</p><p>“And where is she goin?” Shelby asks. Her eyes holding a bit of concern.</p><p>Both of their eyes follow Toni’s figure walking into the forest before disappearing. “It’s okay, just let her cool off. She’s always running off when she’s angry but she’ll come back.”</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Rachel takes a deep breath of the fresh sea salt air. She was currently stretching by the shore, preparing herself for the scavenge hunt ahead of her. <em>Here we go.</em></p><p>As she walks out into the sea, Leah quickly falls into step beside her. “Wait, Rachel, the water’s insane.” Rachel looks out to the waves.</p><p>“You see those waves over there? How they’re breaking sideways?” Leah continues. “That’s a fucking riptide.”</p><p><em>How the hell does she know that. </em>Rachel thinks as she looks at the girl next to her.</p><p>“I surf.” Leah answers her unsaid question with a sheepish look on her face.</p><p>Rachel blinks. “You surf.”</p><p>“I was trying to impress Fatin, okay?”</p><p>Rachel doesn’t answer so she continues, “Anyways. The water’s a deathwish. Let’s not get ourselves killed and do something else instead.”</p><p>“Okay. What do you suggest we do then?” Rachel sighed.</p><p>Leah hums as she looks around. Then her eyes settle on the highest mountain in the distance. She points to it with a glint in her eyes. “That mountain. Let’s climb it so we can get a full view of the island.”</p><p>Rachel eyes the mountain, contemplating. Then, with a decisive nod, she turns and starts walking back to where their camp was at.</p><p>“Wait, where are you going?” Leah calls out. “The mountain is in the other direction.”</p><p>“If we’re going out there, we’re gonna need someone who’s good at navigating.” Rachel replies without looking back.</p><p>“Yeah? And who’s that exactly?” Leah says while running to catch up to her.</p><p>“Miss Sunshine-and-Rainbows.” <em>Oh, Shelby?</em></p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Alright, let’s keep it moving. I wanna get to the top before the sun goes down, see if we can flash a good signal.”</p><p>After turning down Nora, Rachel is now walking ahead with Leah and their newest addition, Shelby, behind her. She has the mirror wrapped to her body and her hands gripping onto it as she focuses on her hike up the mountain. It was hard to do so though with Shelby asking her questions every single minute. <em>I made a mistake bringing her. Maybe I should’ve brought Dot with us instead.</em></p><p>“And what about you?” Shelby turns to Rachel. “Big college plans?”</p><p>“I already committed to Stanford. Their diving program is basically an Olympic pipeline.” She replies, trying to keep the conversation short.</p><p>“Cool, will your sister go with you?” Shelby asks with interest.</p><p>
  <em>Sigh.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They were now probably halfway up the mountain when Shelby suggests they stop for a bit.</p><p>“I might… I might need a little breather.” Shelby manages to huff out. Leah also releasing short breaths of exhaustion in front of her.</p><p>“We’re almost there.” Rachel pushes on. Thanking her high stamina for making her endure this excruciatingly long hike.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>When Shelby has finally had enough, they were nearing the peak of the mountain.</p><p>“I’m takin a break. Sorry.” She says plopping down on the sandy ground. She couldn’t give a damn about Rachel anymore; her legs were sore and her lungs felt heavy.</p><p><em>Oh, shoot. </em>Leah thinks as she sees Rachel’s chest heave in frustration.</p><p>“I said we’re almost there!” Rachel shouts as she whirls around to face the blonde girl sitting on the ground. But unfortunately, in doing so, the mirror falls out of where it was wrapped and flies into the edge of the mountain.</p><p><em>The mirror! </em>It was as if the world was in slow motion when Leah saw the mirror fly across her.</p><p>She quickly darts towards it, throwing her body to the edge.</p><p>“Leah. Leah!” Shelby stands. Her heart spiking up. “No, no, no. Stop! We don’t need it!”</p><p>“I see it.” Leah starts reaching for the mirror. Her eyes set on the said object.</p><p>She could hear Rachel asking her for the mirror on one side and Shelby on the other, protesting.</p><p>With a deep breath, she wills herself to reach more towards the mirror. <em>Almost there.</em> But then all she could feel was her body slipping from the solid ground of the mountain.</p><p>And she was falling to her death for a quick second before she felt arms gripping tightly to her ankles and legs.</p><p>“Leah!”</p><p>“Get me up! Get me up!”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>Toni woke up with a jolt. Her heart racing. She looked around and saw that she was still in the forest. Her back was leaning against a tree. <em>I must’ve fallen asleep.</em></p><p>She didn’t venture too deep into the forest when she made an angry exit on Martha and Shelby earlier. <em>Right, Marty. I need to check on her agai-</em></p><p>At that exact moment, she felt her heart drop to her stomach before skyrocketing. Toni gasps. <em>What the fuck? </em></p><p>Her heartbeat was pounding out of chest. She presses a hand above her heart and feels her heart beating at a normal pace.</p><p>And that’s when it hits her. All of this is not from her doing. It’s from-</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Shelby.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>She jumps up from the tree and starts running towards their camp as fast as her legs could take her.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>When she arrives at the camp, she notices its almost empty except for Fatin who’s pacing back and forth, her eyes trained on the floor.</p><p>As Toni jogs closer, she could see that Fatin was taking in deep breaths.</p><p>“Hey! Are you okay? Where are the others?”</p><p>Fatin’s eyes shoots up towards her. Toni could see fear reflecting in them and she bets that her own eyes were reflecting the same emotion too.</p><p>“Dot brought Martha somewhere that could make her ankle feel better but Leah…” She drifts off, bringing her hand towards her chest, above her heart. Toni could see a slight shake in her hands.</p><p>“Fatin.” Toni takes a step closer to her. Her hands reaching out to hold Fatin’s shoulders, stopping her pacing. She looks straight into the fear-filled eyes. “Did Shelby go with her?”</p><p>“I- Yes. With Rachel too.” Fatin answers anxiously. “Fuck, I think they’re in danger.”</p><p>Toni gives her a small nod in agreement.  “We need to find them.”</p><p>“Leah said they were going up the mountains. But honestly, they could literally be <em>anywhere</em> right now.”</p><p><em>Fuck. </em>Toni sits on a large rock. Her mind racing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Where do we even start looking for them at?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Did they see a fuckin bear or something? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Or someone? Is there a lone killer living on this island?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>After moments of silence passed, of trying to come up with something, they both come to realise that the pounding of heartbeat has started to subside.</p><p>Toni glanced at the other girl and saw that she looked to be in deep thought, her eyes glazed over. She concluded that Fatin must be communicating with her soulmate.</p><p>“They’re okay?” She asks with a slight hopeful tone.</p><p>Fatin seems to snap back to reality and looks at her. “Yea, I think so.” Then she sits next to Toni, her shoulders sagging. She drops her head into one hand, rubbing her forehead. She lets out a sigh, “Jesus, that was crazy.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Leah!”</p><p> </p><p>Fatin throws herself into her girlfriend. Her arms wrapped around Leah’s neck pulling her close.</p><p>Leah follows the action, wrapping her arms around her soulmate’s torso. She slightly lifts Fatin a few inches off the ground as she hugs her tighter. “I’m sorry about that, Fatin. I wasn’t thinking straight.”</p><p>“You sure weren’t.” Shelby butts in. The soulmates slightly pull away from each other and turns to look at Shelby. “Thank God Nora was there.”</p><p>In the corner of her eyes, Fatin can see Toni discretely giving the blonde girl a once-over as if she was checking for any injuries on her body.</p><p> </p><p><em>Huh. Interesting. </em>Fatin thought.</p><p> </p><p>After the throwing the subtle once-over, Toni sat slight far away from the trio. She does some thinking while mindlessly playing with the sand.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>That was probably just some… coincidence. Shelby’s not my soulmate.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Leah follows her soulmate’s eyes which was still staring at the brunette. She looks back to Fatin questioningly.</p><p>“You know what, let’s go for a walk.” Fatin says, tugging Leah’s hand. She throws her a small smile.</p><p>“Yea, sure,” Leah answers albeit a little hesitantly. <em>I’m not sure if leaving those two alone is a good idea.</em></p><p>Fatin pulls them into the direction of the sea and they start walking by the shore.</p><p>“Are you sure you wanna leave those two alone?” Leah asks, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth.</p><p>“Oh yea. Those two need to talk their shit out.” Fatin waves off. “Anyways, are you okay? What the hell happened earlier?”</p><p>“The mirror. It fell to edge and I was trying to get it back but it was too far, I guess. I nearly fell to my death.”</p><p>“Dumbass!” Fatin exclaims, throwing a light punch to Leah’s shoulder. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”</p><p>“Sorry, sorry,” Leah laughs. “I probably gave myself a heart attack too.”</p><p>Rolling her eyes playfully, Fatin moves closer to her soulmate. With the other hand that wasn’t holding Leah’s, she hugs her girlfriend’s arm while leaning her head on her shoulder.</p><p>“There’s nothing here, Fatin.” Leah continues. Her voice now in a low tone. “No villages, no resorts, no people. Nothing. Just us and nature… can we even survive this?”</p><p>“I don’t know Leah. I just hope we can somehow find help before we all go insane.”</p><p>“Wait. What’s that?” Leah murmurs.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Leah doesn’t answer. She only walks forward a few steps before stopping.</p><p>“What, Leah?” Fatin asks, standing next to her girlfriend. She turns her head to the side, looking at her girlfriend, only to see Leah’s eyes set on the ground infront of them.</p><p>Slowly, she moves her gaze down.</p><p>There she could see a trail of footprints.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>It’s leading… to the ocean?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Someone was here.” Leah deadpans.</p><p>Fatin felt a wave of eeriness wash over her. It settles into her bone.</p><p>After a minute of dead silence, Fatin tries to shrug it off. “I’m not gonna lie this feels kinda creepy. But… it was probably just one of the girls, right?”</p><p>Leah only shakes her head in an <em>I don’t know</em> manner.</p><p>“Come on, let’s head back.”</p><p>With a pull of her hand, Fatin leads them back to the camp. They both continued to their walk back as the Sun starts to set, trying to ignore the recent discovery and just try to peacefully enjoy each other’s presence.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>When they got back to the camp, all the other girls were back and seated around the campfire.</p><p>“Now that we’re all here, let’s discuss our game plan for tomorrow.” Dot says, straightening up her back. “I think it’s best we start building shelter- ‘’</p><p>“Oh, hell no.” Rachel cuts in.</p><p>“Hell yes. Look, sooner or later, it’s gonna rain. We’re going to need a shelter. Or at least a huge rock that we can duck under. Because believe it or not, the elements don’t fuck around and neither should we.”</p><p>“I’ll go with you, Dottie.” Shelby pipes in.</p><p>“Whatever, you do you. I still need to go out to the plane wreckage. Leah, you still in?” Rachel asks. Her eyes narrowing at the said girl.</p><p>“Hmm? Oh, yea. I’m still in.” Leah replies. She was half-paying attention. To be honest, her mind was still stuck on what she found earlier on her walk with her soulmate. She just can’t seem to shrug it off as easily as Fatin did and she’s starting to feel the paranoia slowly seeping into her nerves.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Something is going on here.</em>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. you were trying to wear me down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>day 3: dot and shelby goes to find shelter, leah and the twins goes out to the sea, fatin and martha talk more about soulmates, toni finds marcus</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i rlly just dipped after posting 2 chapters lmao i apologise. life rlly messed w me but im back now!!</p><p>anyways, here's almost 5k of word vomit. this chapter will be more plot orientated but we'll see more leatin/shoni in the future chapters, just hang in there y'all &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>DAY 3</strong>
</p><p>It’s been three days since the crash. For some of the girls, they’re currently worrying over their survival rate on this isolated island. Finding shelter and finding ways of communication to the outside world. However, for the other half of the girls, they’re currently basking in the daydreams of their food cravings.</p><p> </p><p>“Blue crab sushi from Hinata drizzled in ponzu sauce… with just the lightest <em>touch</em>- just a <em>kiss</em> of wasabi…”</p><p> </p><p>Leah chuckled. She could almost feel her stomach growling in hunger. Not coming from her, of course. It’s coming from her blue-crab-sushi deprived soulmate. She looks away from preparing her makeshift float to glance at the three girls laying on the sand, their heads together and eyes closing as they imagine all kinds of food.</p><p>“I just want some Indian tacos, the way mom makes them… with black beans and Velveeta.” Martha trails off.</p><p>“Oh, I would destroy some Velveeta right now.” Toni cuts in. She’s also closing her eyes, her mouth pulled up in a dreamy smile. “Like, I would just house it straight from the packet.”</p><p>“I’m thinkin’ Cheesecake Factory.”</p><p>Toni snaps her eyes open to stare down at the girl. She almost forgot how close they were from each other. Shelby was laying less than a metre away from her and Toni can’t help but feel slightly comforted that she was near her after what had happened yesterday.</p><p>As Shelby and Fatin continue their conversation, Toni pokes at the sand, slightly mad at her brain for always drifting off in thoughts of a certain blonde. Her face scrunches up as she tries to shake her them away. Luckily for her, Dot comes to call away the said person that’s been invading her mind the past three days.</p><p>“Alright, come on, Shelby.” Dot tugs her cap on. Her eyes filled with determination. “Let’s go.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>A cool breeze of air hit the duo as they walk by the sea. Shelby breathed it in, her head facing the waves as they come and go. She felt the freshness enter through her nostrils then into her airways and filling up her lungs. At that moment, she felt almost at peace and-</p><p> <em>Free. </em></p><p>It was shortlived though, when she faces back ahead and notices Dot is already a good few meters infront of her. She almost wants to just sit on these rocks and watch the sea as they pull in waves and push them away. When can she ever get a moment of peace like this back at home?</p><p>With a sigh, she fastens her steps, quickly catching up to Dot.</p><p>“So, bet we’re gonna be big news back home.” Shelby starts.</p><p>“Guess so,” Dot replies absentmindedly.</p><p>“I really hope they don’t use our yearbooks because mine has not been flattering,” Shelby continues. Her eyes casted downwards as she tries to avoid the small puddles and not trip on any rocks. “And they’d have to use yours from freshman year, considering you’ve been <em>‘not pictured’ </em>two years in a row.”</p><p>Dot scoffs. “Strange thing to be keeping track of.”</p><p>“Well, I co-edit the yearbook and the ‘<em>not pictured’</em> spaces are an eyesore. So, yes, I keep track.” Shelby says, not missing a beat to defend herself.</p><p>Dot throws a scowl at the girl who’s finally caught up to her. “Did you come along just to shame me for missing picture day?”</p><p>“No, I came cause of the buddy system.” Shelby ignores the scowl and shrugs her shoulders, “And I just think it’s a shame that we don’t know each other better. Being from the same town and all.”</p><p>Dot stays silent as she focuses on her trek. So, Shelby continues, “We haven’t really crossed paths since eighth-grade Spanish, have we? Before then… what youth soccer?”</p><p>“Yeah, well, I guess our circles just don’t overlap.” Dot’s mind goes back to all of Shelby’s friends. <em>The so-called perfect rich girls. With their just as annoyingly arrogant boyfriends. </em>She remembers the countless number of times she caught the boys talking shit about kids from school. The homophobic insults, the body shaming, all the rumours they’ve spread.</p><p>
  <em>I’d rather be alone than be friends with guys like those.</em>
</p><p>“Why the long face?” Shelby asks when she notices Dot zoning out.</p><p>“Nothing, I just hope you’re nothing like your friends.”</p><p>“What are you talking about?”</p><p>Rolling her eyes, Dot explains. “Oh, come on. They talk shit all the time. And they make it spread around school like a wildfire. The boys, I mean. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of your girl friends are also talking smack.”</p><p>Shelby narrows her eyebrows as she thinks of her friends. “I’m sure they didn’t mean to spread it around… they’ve never talked about it infront of us. Or, at least Andrew never said anything infront of me.”</p><p>“I’m sure he doesn’t say or <em>do</em> a lot of things with you too.”</p><p>“What?” Shelby asks. A huge question mark written all over her face. <em>What’s that suppose to mean?</em></p><p>Dot sighs. “Andrew isn’t who you think he is, Shelby.”</p><p>Shelby stays mum, waiting for a much needed elaboration. Dot continues when she notices the girl next to her falling silent, “I’m sure you had a feeling. He’s.. seeing other girls behind your back.”</p><p>Shelby stops in her tracks to throw the girl beside her a bewildered look. “Andrew? Are you talking about the same Andrew who bought me a star as a gift? He would never do that. He’s my soulmate, Dot.”</p><p>Dot looks at the girl’s and purses her lip in annoyance when she saw it empty. “Huh, yea, I don’t think so. Where’s your mark? Do you even know how soulmates work?”</p><p>“The mark… we’re just not at level of love yet. I’m sure it’ll come once we go back to Texas. He’s a nice guy. A keeper. And he makes me feel safe and secure.”</p><p>“Well, it should be more that. Your soulmate should make you feel <em>home,</em> first and foremost<em>.”</em></p><p>“Okay, so what he’s not my soulmate? Not all soulmates are lucky to find each other. My parents aren’t soulmates and they’re still very much inlove with each other.  Andrew and I promised eachother we’ll get married after college.”</p><p>“I don’t think the feeling’s mutual, Shelby. Why else would he get to second base with all these girls that <em>isn’t</em> you? I’ve caught him in the act. <em>Several times</em> with other girls when I was-“</p><p>“Was what?” Shelby questions. She was getting slightly irritated. “Look, I’m sorry but you don’t get to just accuse my boyfriend of being a cheater. Especially when you got that little <em>side hustle</em> of yours.”</p><p>“Okay, Shelby. Yeah, <em>I sell drugs.</em>” Dot scoffs. “But how else do you think I’ve caught him doing other girls? I thought you would’ve known seeing as your boyfriend is my number one customer. See? He doesn’t tell you things. He’s got secrets, Shelby.”</p><p>“Everyone has secrets.” Shelby says defiantly. Though, inside she’s feeling very disheartened over what she’s learnt of her boyfriend. And she knows <em>deep, deep down</em> that Dot is telling nothing but the truth.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­</p><p>Fatin sighed. She was bored out of her mind. She wasn’t used to having <em>this</em> much free time. On a normal day, she would either be partying or going over to Leah’s house. That is, if she wasn’t caught up with her cello practice.</p><p>
  <em>Her cello.</em>
</p><p>As much as she used to hate the goddamn thing, her hands kind of itch to play it. Although she immensely dreaded going to her practices, it was the only time where she could truly force her thoughts away and clear her head.</p><p><em>I guess it wasn’t that bad. </em>Fatin ponders. <em>I just wish they gave me the freedom to explore other things too.</em></p><p>Growing up, ‘success’ had been instilled into her by her parents. But she knows that’s not what they really mean. She knows her parents just wants to be the best in everyone’s eyes. So, for Fatin, that means studying even after school hours ended. It means attending music classes and practicing every day. <em>Because what better way to top off good grades than playing an instrument?</em></p><p>It wasn’t until she forced her parents to extend her curfew so she could actually go out and meet other people. And meet other people, she did. She met a lot of people at the parties she went to. Hooked up with a some of them too. However, she never kept them close. Sure, she would talk and socialise with them during the parties, but she never got personal. She was gonna leave for Julliard anyways, so why bother getting close?</p><p>But of course, that all changed when she met Leah. Or rather, <em>hunted down</em> Leah.</p><p>Leah’s circle of friends slowly integrated their way into her life and soon, Fatin found herself a group of people that she <em>knows</em> will be her life-long friends and she’d do anything for them.</p><p> </p><p>“Aghh,”</p><p> </p><p>A heavy thud and a groan brought her back to reality. Sat next to her was a scowling Toni.</p><p>“Don’t you ever just chill out?” Fatin asks, amused.</p><p>“What?” Toni turns to her. Her scowl not moving an inch. “Oh, shut up.”</p><p>“How’s your BFF?” Fatin wonders. Usually, the girl would be by her bestfriend’s side, if only a certain blonde weren’t there.</p><p>“You mean Martha? She’s over there sleeping after Shelby kissed her goodnight.” Toni responds. “And BFF? That’s rich.”</p><p>“Oh no, did you guys have a domestic?” Fatin asks sarcastically.</p><p>“I don’t wanna talk about it.”</p><p>Fatin narrows her eyes and stays quiet. She has a feeling that Toni <em>does</em> wanna talk about it…</p><p>Toni continues after a pause, “I could be bleeding, right? My guts spilling out into the streets,” <em>There it is.</em></p><p>“But if Shelby came along with a smile and some fucking muffins then Martha would just walk right by me.” She lets out a huff.</p><p>“Give her some credit. Martha wouldn’t just leave you like that, I mean, she’s your fucking bestfriend right?” Fatin probes.</p><p>“Martha’s getting taken for a ride. All Shelby wants to do is hang out with her long enough to put “saved a little res girl” on her college apps.” Toni concludes, her nostrils flaring slightly in anger.</p><p>Fatin, not one to get too serious, jokingly throws out, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re a little jealous.”</p><p>“Of Shelby? Fuck no. God” and with that, Toni ups and leaves to find a quiet spot where no one can bother. Lucky for her, she has an island full of quiet spots at her hand.</p><p>“Okay! Fine! Have fun brooding!!” Fatin calls out at the figure walking away. She becomes slightly reminded of when she used to tease her little brothers to the point they got so angry, steam was basically going out of their nostrils and ears.</p><p>All of a sudden, Fatin felt her lungs burn in pain. And that could only mean one thing…</p><p>
  <em>Jesus, Leah. What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p>­</p><p>Leah gasped as soon as she broke surface. Her lungs heaving in and out as they desperately take in as much oxygen, trying to compensate the oxygen that was lost.</p><p>Off to the side, Nora was looking at her with eyes wide in concern.</p><p>Rachel resurfaces. “Again, Leah.”</p><p>“No, I can’t,” Leah manages to mumble out. She was starting to get lightheaded. They’ve been at this for a while, it’s probably their— what? <em>Sixth?</em> —  try right now. The fucking box just wouldn’t <em>budge.</em></p><p>“Yes, you can!” Rachel shouts, albeit a little too angrily. She was trying-- <em>really trying ­</em>- to be patient since Leah isn’t a skilled swimmer like her. But she can feel her patience starting to thin out and her irritation building up.</p><p>“Rachel, I can-“ Nora tries.</p><p>“Shut up, Nora!” Rachel snaps. “Fuck! Come on, Leah!”</p><p>With a deep breath, Leah goes back under to the planewreck. Rachel following her immediately.</p><p>Once they arrived at the box, they instantly got to work and started pulling on it.</p><p>
  <em>Come on, box. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Budge.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Move!</em>
</p><p>The girls were pulling on it with all their might.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck you, </em>
  <em>you stupid box.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Why can’t you move, goddamn it!</em>
</p><p>Just as Rachel feels the box coming slightly loose, Leah pulls away, shaking her head as she floats back up.</p><p>
  <em>Fuck. But we’re almost there. Just one more hard tug.</em>
</p><p>And so, she grabs Leah’s ankle, trying to catch her attention.</p><p>Leah becomes alarmed as the weight forces her back down. She was already barely holding in her breath. She looks back at Rachel to see her pointing to the box and then holding her index finger up. Then, Leah feels herself getting pulled back in the plane. She tries to fight against the hold. <em>At this rate, she’s gonna drown.</em></p><p>Once she breaks free, she quickly climbs back up for air.</p><p>Leah coughs violently as soon as she resurfaces. She feels her lungs burning and she was pretty sure she swallowed some water. Just then, Rachel appears.</p><p>“What the fuck, Leah? We were almost there!” Rachel shouts.</p><p>“I could’ve fucking died!” Leah says, out of breath. “You’re fucking crazy, you know that?!”</p><p>“Jesus! It’s just one more fucking pull! Then we’re out of here, Leah! And out of this <em>fucking</em> island once we get that damn box!!” Rachel yells out before going back underwater.</p><p><em>I have to get back to the real world. I need to improve myself. Need to prove myself to everyone. </em>Rachel thinks. It was all she could think about since they crashed here. She repeats the thoughts like a mantra as she swims deeper.</p><p>Leah looks at Nora, shaking her head in disbelief before she follows Rachel under.</p><p>
  <em>Fine. Just one more pull.</em>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Um, Fatin?” Martha calls out. Seems like she just woke up from her beauty sleep. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Martha eyed the girl. To anyone else, Fatin would seem calm. Just reading the book Leah brought along with her. But Martha can see her knees bouncing anxiously. Plus, she could also make out the nervous nail biting behind the book.</p><p>Placing the said book down, Fatin replies apprehensively, “Yeah, no—I don’t know.”</p><p>“What’s wrong? Did you get hurt?”</p><p>“What? Oh, no its not me,” Fatin heart slightly warmed. Martha barely knew her but she already cares so much about her wellbeing. Maybe that says a lot about her as a person. “I’m okay, Martha. It’s—”</p><p>“Leah?”</p><p>Fatin nods.</p><p>Martha smiles sympathetically, “Is she okay?” before limping her way to Fatin’s side.</p><p>“She will be once she gets back.” Fatin reassures her. But rather it sounds like she’s trying to reassure her own self instead. “My chest hurts but it just comes and go. I guess all the swimming is taking its toll.”</p><p>“She’ll be okay, Fatin. She has Rachel-- who’s basically like a star athlete – to help her incase anything happens.” Martha gives her a lopsided smile. “Why don’t I try to distract you? What are you reading?”</p><p>“Oh, this?” Fatin holds up the book. “Leah’s book. She bought it during our book date.”</p><p>“A book date? Like you guys went to the library or something?”</p><p>“We went to Barnes and Nobles actually. Spent the whole afternoon picking out books. Then we read some of them at this small caf<em>é.” </em>Fatin smiles at the memory.</p><p>“Aww that sounds fun! I bet you guys went on a lot of dates.” Martha says.</p><p>“I wouldn’t say a lot but we had a fair amount of dates given that we’ve only known eachother for a year or so.” Her mind drifted off to their most recent date. It was at an empty park, the sun was shining. They’ve set up a picnic with a bunch of their favorite snacks and drinks. The spent the whole afternoon talking, laughing, and feeding each other little bites of their food. Then, as the sun started to set, they walked back to Leah’s house with their intertwined hands swinging back and forth in the space between them.</p><p>“Can you tell me more about soulmates and the soulmarks thing?” Martha quips in curiosity, propping up an elbow on her knee and leaning her chin on her hand.</p><p>Fatin shrugged in a sure-I-guess manner, “Well, you know about the whole feeling eachother’s emotions, right? That only works if the emotion is intense, strong. Only then it will go through the bond.”</p><p>Martha nods, “And soulmarks?”</p><p>“Soulmarks appear when both of you accept each other. It could be the moment you realise you love them. Or it could be when you first lay eyes on each other. I guess its different for every couple, but the main thing is acceptance.”</p><p>While Martha processes the information, Fatin continues, “And when it appears, it appears in the form of your soulmate’s name in black ink.”</p><p>“On your wrist?”</p><p>“Yep.” Fatin says before holding her left wrist out so Martha can see her soulmark. “It turns white when your soulmate passes away. So, as you can see here, Leah is still very much alive somewhere. Suffering, but alive.”</p><p>Another question popped into Martha, “Did it hurt when it appeared?”</p><p>Fatin took a moment to think. Her mind going back to the memory. “It didn’t really hurt but it felt more like a… a sting. And I remember it felt hot at first.”</p><p>
  <em>Plop.</em>
</p><p>Simultaneously, Martha and Fatin turned their heads to the noise. They were pulled out of their conversation by… <em>a mannequin?</em></p><p>Standing behind it was Toni. “So, this guy washed up. Is he good for anything?”</p><p>“I mean, he can be our newest addition to the fam.” Martha says. Toni drags the mannequin closer to the girls and they all huddled up around it.</p><p>“My mans got an eight pack!” Fatin exclaims as she knocks on the said abs.</p><p>“Yeah, see, he doesn’t really read as straight to me. I mean look at those abs. Straight boys don’t rock an eight pack that hard.” Toni comments.</p><p>“Hmm, he could also be a straight gym-rat fuck boy, you know? All about his ‘Gram channel, sprays Acqua di Gio on his balls, and he will always leave you on read.” Fatin rubs her hand across the mannequin’s chest before leaning on its shoulder. She says mockingly, “Marcus here will break your fucking heart.”</p><p>“Marcus?”</p><p>“Yea, where did Marcus come from?”</p><p>Fatin gives them a one-shouldered shrug, “It’s a vibe.”</p><p>“I mean its kinda close to my name…” Martha says playfully.</p><p>Fatin smirks at the her, “Honestly, I feel the chemistry.”</p><p>“Yeah?” Martha throws a smug smile.</p><p>“Yeah, Marty, get it.” Toni chuckles, her eyes glinting with mischief.   </p><p>Just then, Dot and Shelby joins them. Both of them sweaty and their clothes more dirtier then when they left. It seems they didn’t come empty handed though, Shelby was carrying a black duffel bag slung on her shoulder.</p><p>Toni can’t deny that she felt relieved seeing those two returning.</p><p>She felt a spike of fear earlier on when she was having her alone time by the sea and she figured it would’ve been from none other than the blonde-haired girl. It seems like the more the days go by, the more Toni realises the universe might be playing a sick joke on her to pair her with probably the most straightest church girl in the world.</p><p>“We are back.” Shelby says with a smile. “Unscathed.”</p><p>“And we found a cave.” Dot continues. She had a winning smile on her face.</p><p>“Thank goddd,” Fatin groans. “I cannot take another night with wet sand in my crack.”</p><p>Shelby walks closer to the group, dropping the bag she found earlier next to the mannequin. “And who’s this?”</p><p>“Team, meet Marcus.” Martha says while turning around the said mannequin so it would face the newcomers. “And what’s that you got there, Shelby?”</p><p>Shelby unzips the bag. “I’m guessing it belongs to our pilot. Look.” She shows them the aviation license card that was attached to the bag.</p><p>Dot went through the bag and found some spare clothes. “Here, the mannequin gets some clothes.” She says before throwing what seemingly looks like a pilot’s shirt to Fatin.</p><p>“<em>Marcus," </em>Fatin draws out. "..says thank you. He has a name, Dorothy.” Fatin points out.</p><p>Dot let out a whistle then pulled out a small transparent bag. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of pills and tablets. “A med kit, guys. Damn, this is a haul. Pain pills, disinfectants, basically a whole medicine cabinet.”</p><p>Shelby grabbed the painkiller bottle, opening it and pouring out a pill to Martha. “Alright, down the hatch. You, ma’am, are gonna be in ship-shape in no time.”</p><p>“I’ve only had ever had the store brand kind before.” Martha says before accepting the pill. She then throws a bright smile at Shelby, her eyes shining.</p><p>Meanwhile, Toni was looking at the exchange from the side. <em>Why is she acting like Shelby is some fucking godsend saviour?  </em>“She didn’t buy them for you. She had some dumb fucking luck.” Toni says, muttering the last sentence under her breath.</p><p>“Hey, um, give her one of these.” Dot interrupts. Handing the pills to Shelby, she continues, “Maybe one and a half, but make sure she takes it with food.”</p><p>“What is it?” Shelby asks.</p><p>“Oxycodone.” Dot replies nonchalantly. No one said anything but from the looks on their faces, they were all lowkey impressed with Dot’s knowledge in survival.</p><p>Just then, a voice is heard in the distance, “Hey!”</p><p>Rachel appears from the shore. A bright orange metal box in her hand. Behind her was Nora and Leah, who in all honesty both looked like they just walked through literal <em>hell.</em> Meanwhile, Rachel was the opposite with her small victory smile. She presented the box to the other girls as if it were a trophy. “We found something!”</p><p>She dropped the box near Marcus and the girls formed a circle around it. Toni felt her heartrace pick up slightly when Shelby plopped down next to her. Meanwhile, Leah flopped next to her soulmate with a sigh. Her body sagging in exhaustion. Fatin rubbed her back before giving her shoulder a squeeze, silently asking if she’s okay.</p><p>Leah placed her hand on top of Fatin’s, squeezing her hand back. She gave her a small nod then turned to look at the object of her near-death experience. All the girls were silently staring at it, reading the big bold words on the box.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>FLIGHT RECORDER DO NOT OPEN</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“So, what do we do with it?” Martha breaks the silence. When in doubt, you turn to…</p><p>“What are you looking at me for? I don’t know dick about planes.” Dot says exasperatedly when she notices all eyes on her. “Two days ago was the first time I’d ever been in one.”</p><p><em>Ha, same. </em>Toni thought.</p><p>“We should open it.” Leah suggests. Her eyes never leaving the box.</p><p>Martha scrunches her eyebrows, “But it says right on the thing…”</p><p>“Martha, I know but if we were to get inside, you might find the actual recording, like, the actual tape of what happen out there.” Leah cuts in.</p><p>“Don’t we kind of already know what happened?” Martha questions.</p><p>“Do we?” Leah snaps her head up before looking around at each of the girls. “Can somebody tell me, like the <em>full</em> account? From the turbulence to the <em>moment</em> you woke up here?”</p><p>At that everyone fell silent.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Is she suggesting this whole thing is... a set-up?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But with all the adrenaline, our brain probably made us forget it all as a defense mechanism, right?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>”Besides, look at how big and loud the ‘Do Not Open’ is. Part of me feels like it’s telling us to do the opposite, like it’s being ironic.” Leah adds. Her eyes boring straight at the big bold words.</p><p>That’s when Rachel finally snaps.</p><p>“Fuck, no! We are NOT opening it!” <em>They’re fucking crazy if they wanna break the ONLY chance we have of being saved.</em></p><p>“Jesus. She’s intense.” Fatin mutters under her breath, a little bit taken aback at the sudden outburst.</p><p>“You have no idea. She almost fucking killed me out there.” Leah says in a low voice, leaning closer to Fatin.</p><p>“Yeah, I felt it.” Her eyes in understanding. <em>What a psychopath.</em></p><p>The air was tense. It was the first time they found something significantly big that could get them out of this island, they didn’t wanna mess it up. Nora keeps rubbing her nape uncomfortably while Martha hugs her own waist anxiously.</p><p>Dot speaks up after a few moments, her question directed to Nora. “You said there was maybe, like a transmitter in here beaming out our location?”</p><p>“It’s called a beacon, I think.” Nora answers.</p><p>“Okay, but if they haven’t found us yet, can’t we assume that this beacon thing is busted?” Shelby asks carefully. “I mean maybe if we just try--”</p><p>“ ‘Do Not Open’!! What part of that is unclear?” Rachel shouts enraged. “What if we open and break a completely functional beacon? That would wipe us off the grid entirely. Is that you want? Cause if that’s what you all want, you’re fucking damaged.”</p><p>Dot sighs. She was torn. As much she wants to open it, Rachel had a point. What if it was perfectly okay? She scootches closer to the box, examining it. She peeks through the slits and notices something, “There’s a bulb inside. But it’s out.”</p><p>Martha straightens her back at the information, “Okay, so that means it’s definitely broken, right?”</p><p>Rachel closes her eyes trying to hold her anger in. “If someone suggests opening it one more time, I swear to god.”</p><p>“What do you think, Dorothy?” Fatin sighs. Dot crumbles under the question. She wasn’t sure what to make of the girl’s full trust on her.</p><p>Shelby notices the inner fight Dot is having with herself. After spending the day with her, Shelby understands the girl more now after knowing what she went through and since Dot knows about her… <em>little dentures secret, </em>they’ve sort of formed a bond. And so, she decides to help Dot feel less like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “Okay, yall, what we choose to do right now should not be in the hands of just one person. Not that Dottie couldn’t handle it-- but we shouldn’t put that much responsibility on her. I say we vote. All those in favor, raise your hand.”</p><p>The girls all raised a hand except for Rachel.</p><p>“Alright, then. Majority rules.”</p><p>They spend the next half an hour trying to open the box. <em>Keyword: trying. </em>It seems like the screws were really deep in the box but they kept going at it and soon, the screws loosened up and they were finally able to open the box.</p><p>Now, they were faced with circuit boards with chips lined up on them. One of the motherboards seemed to have fallen out of place, so Dot carefully clicked it back in its place. Upon doing so, it released beeping noises. “Holy shit. Do you think that means it’s working?</p><p>“I mean, I don’t know. But we have to assume, yes.” Nora replies, looking at the box in hopefulness.</p><p>“So, it’s on? Now they’re gonna find us?” Martha says excitedly, jumping up and down on the spot.</p><p>“Ye, boy! Fuck to the yes!” Toni exclaims, shaking her bestfriend in excitement.</p><p>“Wait a second.” Dot tells them. She pulls out a small rectangular thing from the box. “I think this is it. The recording from the flight.”</p><p>Leah takes it out of her hands, staring at it for a second before pressing the play button.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>This is November Delta 294. Are we cleared for departure?</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>November Delta 294, you are… 294 out of range, engaging distress signal. </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>We’ve gone off course. Mayday, Mayday, May…</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Nora cover her ears and Rachel comes to her side, rubbing her back calmly.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Lost thrust in both engines. We’re off course—</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Cabin pressure is gone, Captain. The girls are unconscious.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>We got complete engine failure. I’m gonna have to put this down in water.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Shelby side hugs Martha in fear. Listening to the recording was making her skin crawl. Martha squeezes Shelby’s hand on her arm before pulling Toni to her other side.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Unlatch the exits. Make sure the girls have floatation devices. Copy.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>294, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! We’ve lost thrusters in both engines and are attempting a water landing. Hold on for the attempt. Oh, shit! Mayday! Mayday! May—BOOM</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>The girls flinch at the explosion and Fatin audibly gasps. Leah holds her hand in comfort before turning to the others, “We should’ve died.”</p><p> </p><p>“But we didn’t. We’re alive.”</p>
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